Fitbit or MFP?

Amanda82691
Amanda82691 Posts: 298 Member
edited November 22 in Health and Weight Loss
Ok so I noticed that even though I have both my fitbit and myfitnesspal set to lose 1lb a week. I noticed myfitnesspal gives me a few more calories then my fitbit. First does anyone know why? Second which one do you guys listen to? I am afraid if I listen to myfitnesspal then at the end of the day I will be over budget for my fitbit. Or should they evenout in the end?

Replies

  • nordlead2005
    nordlead2005 Posts: 1,303 Member
    A few calories don't matter. 10 calories is ~0.003lb or ~0.02lb/week. If we are talking 100 or more, then I'd go by whatever is lower to start with and see how much you lose. If you are losing at your target rate, then that was the right amount. If you are losing faster/slower than your target rate, then adjust.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    I follow mfp for calories and rely on fitbit for the exercise part
  • chami1013
    chami1013 Posts: 31 Member
    christinev297 wrote: »
    I follow mfp for calories and rely on fitbit for the exercise part

    I do the same!
  • Amanda82691
    Amanda82691 Posts: 298 Member
    chami1013 wrote: »
    christinev297 wrote: »
    I follow mfp for calories and rely on fitbit for the exercise part

    Ok so you just make sure your calories stay in line with what MFP says and that your not going over how many calories fitbit says you burned for the day??
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    Amanda82691 wrote: »
    I noticed myfitnesspal gives me a few more calories then my fitbit. First does anyone know why? Second which one do you guys listen to?

    Fitbit prorates your calories by time of day—and goes below 1,200. Ignore your Fitbit calorie goal and follow MFP's. But you must enable negative calorie adjustments: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

    If not, you'll never eat at a true deficit on days you burn fewer calories than your MFP activity level.

    You can learn more in the Fitbit Users group: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    I follow MFP for calories.
  • Amanda82691
    Amanda82691 Posts: 298 Member
    editorgrrl wrote: »
    Amanda82691 wrote: »
    I noticed myfitnesspal gives me a few more calories then my fitbit. First does anyone know why? Second which one do you guys listen to?

    Fitbit prorates your calories by time of day—and goes below 1,200. Ignore your Fitbit calorie goal and follow MFP's. But you must enable negative calorie adjustments: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

    If not, you'll never eat at a true deficit on days you burn fewer calories than your MFP activity level.

    You can learn more in the Fitbit Users group: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users


    Thanks!! I have looked around in the fitbit community page. No one responds to my questions there. They do here lol.

    But shouldn't the calories that the fitbit tell me I can eat for the day end up being the same as myfitnesspal? Even with fitbit prorating them (thus telling you if your over or under in relation to the amount of calories you have burned at that moment ) the number it tells you you have left to eat for the day plus what you have already eaten should end up being about the same as over calories allowed to be eaten according to MFP for the day?
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    Compare mfp to fitbit at midnight, the numbers should closely match up. So I've heard, I've never actually checked.
  • 123user456
    123user456 Posts: 68 Member
    christinev297 wrote: »
    Compare mfp to fitbit at midnight, the numbers should closely match up. So I've heard, I've never actually checked.

    Over the span of 3 months, mine are different by 2 calories at the end of the day. I have both set to sedentary and make sure my stats are the same in both.

  • atypicalsmith
    atypicalsmith Posts: 2,742 Member
    I have a fitbit zip strictly as a pedometer. It keeps telling me stuff like what my heartbeat is, and how many calories I've burned, and that's just fine. I use it only to log my steps every day. Just bought it last week and already have two badges, hah! So silly! Just wanna know how many steps I've walked to inspire me.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    atypicalsmith wrote: »
    I have a fitbit zip strictly as a pedometer. It keeps telling me stuff like what my heartbeat is, and how many calories I've burned, and that's just fine. I use it only to log my steps every day. Just bought it last week and already have two badges, hah! So silly! Just wanna know how many steps I've walked to inspire me.

    heartbeat? I've got the zip, it's not a heart rate monitor.

  • atypicalsmith
    atypicalsmith Posts: 2,742 Member
    christinev297 wrote: »
    atypicalsmith wrote: »
    I have a fitbit zip strictly as a pedometer. It keeps telling me stuff like what my heartbeat is, and how many calories I've burned, and that's just fine. I use it only to log my steps every day. Just bought it last week and already have two badges, hah! So silly! Just wanna know how many steps I've walked to inspire me.

    heartbeat? I've got the zip, it's not a heart rate monitor.

    Truly, I don't know what else it pretends to be measuring. As long as it measures my steps, I'm happy.
  • atypicalsmith
    atypicalsmith Posts: 2,742 Member
    christinev297 wrote: »
    atypicalsmith wrote: »
    I have a fitbit zip strictly as a pedometer. It keeps telling me stuff like what my heartbeat is, and how many calories I've burned, and that's just fine. I use it only to log my steps every day. Just bought it last week and already have two badges, hah! So silly! Just wanna know how many steps I've walked to inspire me.

    heartbeat? I've got the zip, it's not a heart rate monitor.

    It has a little thing that looks like a bad hairstyle which says 2035. Then it gives me the time. Then a couple of symbols with three dotsbetween them which look like a circle with a dot inside and a point at the bottom which says 7.78. And at long last, a little footstep symbol which says 17,558! I know that's very much in the ballpark because I walked four miles today, and my average mile is 2500 steps. Plus I took a line dancing class. Plus I went other places and always park my car in the shade, which is usually the furthest parking place away. I'm not asking anyone to tell me what the other little info bits are as all I wanted was an accurate pedometer.
  • ShandaLeaS
    ShandaLeaS Posts: 136 Member
    Mfp for food/nutrition
    FitBit for exercise
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    edited August 2015
    atypicalsmith wrote: »
    christinev297 wrote: »
    atypicalsmith wrote: »
    I have a fitbit zip strictly as a pedometer. It keeps telling me stuff like what my heartbeat is, and how many calories I've burned, and that's just fine. I use it only to log my steps every day. Just bought it last week and already have two badges, hah! So silly! Just wanna know how many steps I've walked to inspire me.

    heartbeat? I've got the zip, it's not a heart rate monitor.

    It has a little thing that looks like a bad hairstyle which says 2035. Then it gives me the time. Then a couple of symbols with three dotsbetween them which look like a circle with a dot inside and a point at the bottom which says 7.78. And at long last, a little footstep symbol which says 17,558! I know that's very much in the ballpark because I walked four miles today, and my average mile is 2500 steps. Plus I took a line dancing class. Plus I went other places and always park my car in the shade, which is usually the furthest parking place away. I'm not asking anyone to tell me what the other little info bits are as all I wanted was an accurate pedometer.

    2035 = Fitbits estimated Calorie burn for you (It's a TDEE estimate for the day so far)
    7.78 = distance traveled based on steps and stride length

    Edit: and in my tiredness, I completely missed the part about you not wanting to know. I'll leave it there for the lurkers who might not know though. :wink:
  • atypicalsmith
    atypicalsmith Posts: 2,742 Member
    shadow2soul wrote: »
    atypicalsmith wrote: »
    christinev297 wrote: »
    atypicalsmith wrote: »
    I have a fitbit zip strictly as a pedometer. It keeps telling me stuff like what my heartbeat is, and how many calories I've burned, and that's just fine. I use it only to log my steps every day. Just bought it last week and already have two badges, hah! So silly! Just wanna know how many steps I've walked to inspire me.

    heartbeat? I've got the zip, it's not a heart rate monitor.

    It has a little thing that looks like a bad hairstyle which says 2035. Then it gives me the time. Then a couple of symbols with three dotsbetween them which look like a circle with a dot inside and a point at the bottom which says 7.78. And at long last, a little footstep symbol which says 17,558! I know that's very much in the ballpark because I walked four miles today, and my average mile is 2500 steps. Plus I took a line dancing class. Plus I went other places and always park my car in the shade, which is usually the furthest parking place away. I'm not asking anyone to tell me what the other little info bits are as all I wanted was an accurate pedometer.

    2035 = Fitbits estimated Calorie burn for you (It's a TDEE estimate for the day so far)
    7.78 = distance traveled based on steps and stride length

    Edit: and in my tiredness, I completely missed the part about you not wanting to know. I'll leave it there for the lurkers who might not know though. :wink:

    Thanks! Actually for some reason, I feel better knowing now!
  • becalee26
    becalee26 Posts: 185 Member
    It's 11:58pm and mfp tells me I have 430 cals left and Fitbit tells me I have 250 left. I choose to always go by Fitbit. I have lost 13lbs in 35 days so I am sticking to it. I think I would eat too much otherwise .
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    becalee26 wrote: »
    It's 11:58pm and mfp tells me I have 430 cals left and Fitbit tells me I have 250 left. I choose to always go by Fitbit. I have lost 13lbs in 35 days so I am sticking to it. I think I would eat too much otherwise .

    Well that confusing. Also, don't forget fitbit has no problem giving you waaaay under 1200 calories..

    Do you have the correct details entered in both apps. The wrong time zone have stuffed people up before

  • minties82
    minties82 Posts: 907 Member
    edited August 2015
    I wouldn't even have a clue if mine were matching - I work in kilojoules and fitbit does not. Guess I could set an alarm for midnight and change MFP to calories....nah.

    I did a quick calculation, it's 4:28pm here and fitbit and MFP are pretty close. Fitbit is predicting that I can eat 7740 kilojoules today and MFP is saying 7735 kilojoules. I'm not sure about at midnight as sleep is too precious to be awake that late. I wish I could do kilojoules with fitbit.

    Yesterday is off though, with fitbit saying I should have eaten 7865 kilojoules and MFP saying 8732 kilojoules. That is a fairly big difference, around 200 calories.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    It's 2pm here and fitbit is telling me I'm 36 calories over and mfp says I'm 303 calories under.

    For ease and accuracy I definitely follow mfp! Fitbit's way just makes it more confusing than it needs to be...
  • wintersyve
    wintersyve Posts: 29 Member
    edited August 2015
    becalee26 wrote: »
    It's 11:58pm and mfp tells me I have 430 cals left and Fitbit tells me I have 250 left. I choose to always go by Fitbit. I have lost 13lbs in 35 days so I am sticking to it. I think I would eat too much otherwise .

    Fitbit does not include your exercise cals in your remaining cals for the day whereas MFP does from what I can see?
    also, calories are based on what actual cals you have burnt so far whereas MFP takes in a projected tdee when adjusting your cals.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    becalee26 wrote: »
    It's 11:58pm and mfp tells me I have 430 cals left and Fitbit tells me I have 250 left. I choose to always go by Fitbit. I have lost 13lbs in 35 days so I am sticking to it. I think I would eat too much otherwise .

    @becalee26 - Have you updated your calorie goal on MFP since you lost weight?

    Also, if your at 1200 calories, then your deficit might not actually be as high as you picked.

    For example, if I set mine to 2 lbs per week:

    MFP would say I could eat 1200 calories per day. This however wouldn't give me a 1000 calorie deficit. My deficit would actually be 648 because MFP thinks that I will burn 1870 in a day and won't let me go below 1200 calories. Fitbit doesn't care if my goal is below 1200 though, so I will be in a constant 1000 calorie deficit on their food plan. I think Fitbit probably hopes that people will see a really low calorie goal and get off their butt so that they can eat more.

    So the adjustment I get from Fitbit on MFP will be to keep me at a 648 calorie deficit. Fitbit, on the other hand, will still be giving me a 1000 calorie deficit on their food plan. So MFP would allow me to eat 352 calories more than Fitbit would say I could.
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